The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, often shortened to Summit Bechtel Reserve (SBR) or The Summit, is a High Adventure base owned by

Scouting America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

and located in Fayette and

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

counties, near

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...

. It comprises the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base, James C. Justice National Scout Camp, and John D. Tickle National Training and Leadership Center. The reserve is over in size and is the current home of the

National Scout Jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts and/or Girl Guides who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been t ...

. The Summit is one of Scouting America’s four high adventures bases, the others being

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned by Scouting America. It is a high adventure base where crews of Scouts ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, Northern Tier in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, as well as

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and Sea Base in the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

Inauguration

On November 18, 2009, the BSA announced the acquisition of the property comprising the main 10,600-acre site of what is now the Summit Bechtel Reserve. Its acquisition was made possible through a donation from the Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. The $50 million donation is the largest in the history of the BSA. On October 22, 2010, the BSA announced that total donations had reached $100 million, including a $25 million donation from the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation. Both Stephen Bechtel and Walter Scott, Jr. are recipients of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

. October 22 is also the day the BSA announced the dates of the 2013 National Scout Jamboree and the day ground was broken at SBR with 22 golden shovels. The Scott funds funded the building of the Scott Scouting Valley and the Scott Visitor Center. Another gift from T. Michael and Gillian Goodrich led to the creation of centerpiece lake on the main site property now known as Goodrich Lake. Mike Goodrich is also a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award recipient. The Summit Bechtel Reserve is located adjacent to the

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river ...

. Managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, the National River comprises approximately that exemplifies the typically rugged

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, and is a popular

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

destination. It is also the home of the

New River Gorge Bridge The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch long, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world's longest ...

, which hosts an annual base jumping event each October. The current goals of construction at the site are developing infrastructure and providing access to the area's resources for

outdoor activities Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

. The Summit is expected to inject $25.3 million into the local economy annually.

Inception

Plans for The Summit began in 2007 when BSA leadership began looking for a permanent location for the National Scout Jamboree, which had been held at

Fort Walker Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill, commonly known as Fort A.P. Hill (formerly Fort Walker)MDW USARM(25 August 2023) Fort Walker Redesignation Ceremony59:22, Ceremony sponsored by MG Trevor Bredencamp, commander of Military District of Washington; additio ...

(at the time Fort A.P. Hill), Virginia since 1981 as well as seeking another high adventure base for the large number of Scouts who are wait-listed at the other three high adventure camps every year. A committee in charge of site selection and project planning was created. The committee named the new venture Project Arrow, chaired by Jack D. Furst. Plans for Project Arrow grew to include not only a venue for the Jamboree, but also for a Scout camp, a high adventure base, and a training and leadership center, all housed on the same contiguous property. More than 80 sites in 28 states were visited over an 18-month span and inspected as possible locations for the new venue. The top fifteen sites were visited in October 2008 and the list was cut to three final sites:

Saline County, Arkansas Saline County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 123,416. Its county seat and largest city is Benton, Arkansas, Benton. Saline Cou ...

; Goshen,

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a County (United States), county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its count ...

; and the New River region of West Virginia. In February 2009 Arkansas was cut from the list, leaving Virginia and West Virginia. On August 4, 2009, the BSA announced it was no longer considering the Virginia site and was looking into the feasibility of the West Virginia site becoming the sole site for all purposes. On November 18, 2009, the BSA announced that it had chosen the West Virginia site, known locally as the Garden Ground Mountain property, as the future home of the Summit Bechtel Reserve. One of the deciding factors for Project Arrow in choosing the West Virginia site was its adjacency to New River Gorge National River. More than 13 miles of the property borders the park, giving

Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and Scouters access to the more than 70,000 acres of managed wilderness beyond the Reserve's property. On April 1, 2012, Justin D. (Dan) McCarthy was appointed Summit Group Director. He is responsible for all aspects of the operation of the Reserve. McCarthy is a retired Vice-Admiral of the U.S. Navy and served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics. A lifelong scouter, McCarthy received the

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The ...

, the BSA's highest volunteer recognition, in May 2012.

Location

The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is in southern West Virginia bordering the New River Gorge National River. Approximately of the property are in Fayette County. The remaining roughly are in Raleigh County. The property borders the communities of Glen Jean, McCreery, Thurmond, and Mount Hope. To the south is the city of Beckley and to the north is the city of Oak Hill and the town of Fayetteville. To the northwest is Charleston, the state capital.

Features

The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve has three main components of activity: the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base, the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, and the John D. Tickle Training and Leadership Center, each of which has unique program opportunities. There are six subcamps named based on the

NATO Phonetic Alphabet The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply the Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear-code words for communicating the letters of the Latin/Roman ...

, which have the capacity to house up to 40,000 campers, a large outdoor arena with a capacity of approximately 80,000, and ten district adventure areas covering mountain biking, BMX, skate boarding, archery, rifle & shotgun shooting, zip lines, canopy tours, challenge courses, climbing & rappelling. Operating principles of The Summit Bechtel Reserve are centered on four core values: Leadership, Adventure, Service, and Sustainability. The SBR property was once the site of extensive coal mining, an industry for which the state of West Virginia is known. The remnants of long abandoned surface mines within the property have created wide flat areas that tier the terrain into a series of benches, effectively pre-grading and excavating the property, and allowing for many of the roads and infrastructure on the property to begin construction with manageable earth moving. Sections of the property contain large flat areas engineered to accommodate regional camp headquarters and sub-camps. The sub-camp farthest from The Summit's core area is , with an elevation gain of no more than . Pedestrian pathways reduce walking times from base camps to the core activity center to 12–15 minutes. A permanent

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

on the far side of the valley seats 6000 to 8000 people, built as a natural extension to the property's lower bowl

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

section, for a total arena area large enough for 80,000 people during national Scout jamborees. 2013 National Jamboree Bridge

A lake at the center of the main site separates base camps from the arena, action areas, transportation centers, and other traditional core areas. A valley on the Summit property is crossed by a triple-walkway pedestrian

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

Bechtel family

Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. is the grandson of

Warren A. Bechtel Warren Augustine Bechtel (September 12, 1872 – August 28, 1933) was the founder of the Bechtel Corporation, the 2nd largest construction company in the United States as of 2022. Early life Warren Augustine Bechtel was born on September 12, ...

, founder of the

Bechtel Corporation Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the ''Enginee ...

, the largest civil engineering company in the United States. He took over as manager of the company in 1960 at the age of 35 and retired in June 1990. He is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and the Stephen Bechtel Fund, both family foundations, provide support to certain non-profit organizations that address challenges to the economic welfare of the United States. Program areas supported by the foundations include science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Education, environment, character and citizenship development, and

preventive healthcare Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

and selected research. The Bechtel Foundation donated $50 million to the BSA to help the Arrow Project purchase and develop the land that is now The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve.

Jamborees

Original logo at time of first Jamboree held there Since its inception, the largest construction focus of the Arrow Project was preparing The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve property for the

2013 National Scout Jamboree The 2013 National Scout Jamboree (United States) was the 18th national Scout jamboree held by the Boy Scouts of America from July 15, 2013, to July 24, 2013. It was the first national Scout jamboree held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Vir ...

, which was held July 15–24, 2013. The Jamboree saw over 56,000 participants and guests over the course of 10 days for the event. SBR became the third-largest city in West Virginia during the event. 2013 was the inaugural Jamboree held at SBR. All future BSA Jamborees will be held there. The site has hosted the

2017 National Scout Jamboree The 2017 National Scout Jamboree was the 19th national Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America), national Scout jamboree held by the Boy Scouts of America, from July 19, 2017 to July 28, 2017. It was the second National Scout Jamboree held at the Th ...

and the

24th World Scout Jamboree The 24th World Scout Jamboree (Spanish language, Spanish: ''24º Jamboree Scout Mundial'', French language, French: ''24e Jamboree Scout Mondial'') was held at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia from 22 July to 2 ...

in 2019, the latter having been co-hosted by

Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that provides programs for young people ages 5 to 26. It aims "to help develop well-rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world." Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French-language ...

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, and Asociación de Scouts de México. The site is a proposed venue for the 27th World Scout Jamboree.

List of Jamborees at the Bechtel Summit

BSA National high adventure bases

The Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base at The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, established in 2014, is the BSA's seventh consecutive and fourth operating national high adventure base program. The three currently operating programs are the

, the

Northern Tier National High Adventure Base Northern Tier is a collection of high adventure bases run by Scouting America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park and Canadian Crown Lands, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, ...

, and the

Florida National High Adventure Sea Base Sea Base, formerly known as Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, is a high adventure base run by Scouting America in the Florida Keys. Its counterparts are Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico; Northern Tier in Ely, Minnesota, as ...

in Islamorada, Florida. Discontinued programs include the Northern Wisconsin National Canoe Base in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, Maine National High Adventure in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, and the Land Between the Lakes National Outdoor Adventure Center in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. With the addition of The Summit Bechtel Reserve's Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base as the newest high adventure base, participants will be exposed to programs unique to the New River Gorge region. The region offers white water

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

rated from Class II to Class V along the more than 50 miles of river within the New River Gorge National River area. Other outdoor activities that are popular to the area include

Rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

, rappelling (abseiling),

, hiking,

geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

, and

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

. Some of the additional activities added with help from Scout feedback at the 2010 Jamboree, are

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

freestyle BMX Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of four disciplines: street, park, trails, and flatland. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics. E ...

mountainboarding Mountainboarding (MTB), also known as dirtboarding, off-road boarding, and All-Terrain Boarding (ATB), is a well-established,Wall Street Journal, April 16th 1998 but little-known action sport derived from snowboarding. The sport was initially ...

, ATV riding, paddle

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

, dragon boat

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

, and ziplines.

Other uses

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

, located in Beckley, uses the Summit Bechtel Reserve as the home facility for their men's and women's cross country team. As well, Summit allows outside organizations to host retreats at the hotel and hall located on the premise.

References

External links

Scouting.org Bechtel Summit page

SummitCorps: The New River Experience
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, The National camps of the Boy Scouts of America Protected areas of Fayette County, West Virginia Protected areas of Raleigh County, West Virginia Summer camps in West Virginia West Virginia Tech Golden Bears